Inheritance Of Chinese Family Businesses In Sibu,Sarawak

The generational succession of family businesses is a popular research topic in academic circles.Family business is the earliest form of business in Malaysia,and it occupies an important position in Malaysia’s private sector economy.Sibu as a crucial economic province in Sarawak(Malaysia),family businesses are the driving force in leading the economic development of the region.They play an important role in providing jobs,driving the development of local and regional enterprises and industries,and creating economic benefits for the country.This research article is concerning the issues existing in the intergenerational succession of Sibu Chinese family businesses represented by Rimbunan Hijau Group and other prominent family businesses in the province,conducting research and analysis of those issues.With reference to the relevant literature over the past two decades,past researches mainly focus on several core issues such as the definition of family business,the selection of family business successors,the process of family business inheritance,family business resources,and the construction of family business succession models.There is not enough attention to the influence of Chinese culture on the intergenerational succession of family businesses;scholars in other disciplines except management and economics have not been involving much in this field;some theoretical model constructions such as the construction of succession models gave some practical guidance but not significantly meaningful.This research mainly adopts literature research,investigation and case studies,and interview research methods to analyze the problems existing in the succession of Chinese family businesses.This paper explores and analyzes professional managers and family members’ cognition of corporate inheritance.The successful inheritance of Chinese family businesses is inseparable from comprehensive planning and arrangements to form the inner unity of property rights,management rights and enterprise culture,which must complement each other’s advantages in order to succeed.The cross-shareholding method of the family holding companies combined with the corporate policies and the structure of the shareholder agreement can reduce the risk of dilution of ownership,while enhancing family members’ unity.The success factor of the succession of management rights is that the founder participates in the formulation of the inheritance plan as early as possible,and follows conscientiously the plan to cultivate and guide the successor’s decision-making,leadership,and entrepreneurial capabilities.A successful succession plan also requires the comprehensive ability of family members and professional managers to form a highly effective management team.Then,focusing on the construction and inheritance of enterprise culture is the fundamental factor related to the sustainable development of enterprises.People-oriented enterprise culture,sincerely believing in the development of the enterprise is related to the efforts and struggles of all staffs,and the culture of common prosperity.In the end,success or failure of inheritance depends on the process.Mastering the succession process,in-depth awareness of business operations,persistence and endurance,and internal and external communication skills and abilities are the prerequisites for the successor’s succession process.Whether the success factors of succession in the case study are applicable to general Chinese enterprises depends on the growth stage,scale,complexity of family structure and inheritance stage of the particular companies.However,its inheritance strategy,factors,path and succession experience are worthy references,which will help to provide enlightenment for the journey of "wealth can pass beyond three generations".